A man who has been in a vegetive state for five years has been able to communicate using just his thoughts, according to a study.
The brain scanning technique, called functional magnetic resonance, is being used on the man who has been brain damaged since a road accident in 2003.
For the first time in five years it provided the patient with a way of communicating his thoughts to the outside world – Dr Adrian Owen
The study showed that by changing his brain activity he was able to answer a question by thinking “yes” or “no” for the first time in five years.
They tested this by asking him simple questions such as “is your fathers name Thomas?”.
This method had never before been used on non-responsive patient before.
